(As a SUPER BONUS, this is the first EVER, typed AS IT HAPPENS Idol recap. Usually I wait until the next morning, but Mrs. JJD brought her laptop home so I thoight I'd give it a go. I'll probably (definitely) mess up some of the song titles.)

Geez Seacrest, nice of you to dress up for the first REAL episode of the new season. Actually, NONE of them spent a lot of time figuring out what to wear, I’d say.

Ryan asks Randy what he thinks of the guys, Randy calls them “boys”, I’m sure the guys are thrilled with that.

Nikko Smith starts off with “Part Time Lover.” I think it’s a pretty good Stevie Wonder impression, Mrs. JJD says he should have picked a different song. Oh man, Simon kills his buzz by saying it was forgettable. Not a bad way to start, though.

Scott Savol (geez, I have to look at their names every time) follows Nikko with a version of “You Are My Lady”. He looks to me like a white Ruben, easy-flowing, heavier, but if you put a hat on the guy he looks like Fat Joe. Mrs. JJD questions Paula’s “Homage to Cowboy Bob Orton” with the forearm brace (“WHAT is she wearing?”). All three judges question Scott’s song choice, but I’d think he did OK, too.

Mrs. JJD also noticed the new set, which is pretty cool, more intimate like a club would be. I wonder if they’ll go back to the bigger one when they get to twelve. Surely they will.

Anthony Fedorov is up after the break with “Hold on to the Night” and WOW was THAT bad. I thought he would have done better. Randy and Paula call it “safe”, Simon says it’s “as dull as dishwater”. I expected a LOT better out of him. I hope he makes it, so I can call him “Sergei” from now on.

Bo Bice gets to follow Sergei with “Drift Away”, and in following him he sounds like he could win the whole thing. That was REALLY GOOD. Mrs. JJD said he sounded “mature” in giving her approval, and Bo blew away the judges. Well done. He could be the guy who pulls a Clay this season.

Travis Tucker (my pick so far to win it) is up next with “My Cherie Amour” (which I probably BUTCHERED). The judges said it was a bad song choice. I kind of thought it was OK, but I thought he’d do better.

Constantine Maroulis follows Travis with “Kiss of the Rose”. I DID NOT LIKE THIS. I think THIS was an AWFUL song choice. You can tell he was in a band the way he works the mic stand and all, and he reminds me of Scott Stapp, and not in a good way. (Actually, IS there a good way?) Simon says Bo’s a better singer, but Constantine’s got more charisma. I’m not really sure I agree.

Mrs. JJD shrugged her shoulders at the last two guys, and says Paula’s “on crack” for supporting Constantine’s song choice. I still think Sergei has been the weakest so far. It HAS been fun to see Ryan trying to hustle through the breaks.

I have NO desire to see “Man of the House”. Zero.

David Brown comes after this break with “Never Can Say Goodbye”, and it’s too bad they have to cut all these guys down to about 60 seconds, because I would have liked to hear more. Mrs. JJD says he’s the “total package”, but the judges are kind of down on him. I’m starting to think they’re being extra hard on these guys who they know are going to get through.

Jared Yates picks “How Could I” by Marc Anthony, and I wasn’t compelled to even look up from typing. I know the song because Mrs. JJD told me it was a Marc Anthony song, and she says “he does OK with the song, even though I didn’t like it.” the judges throw him under the bus, which I agree with as I think Sergei’s got company. He is the prettiest of the guys so far, so he’s got THAT going for him, I guess.

James Earl Jones, I thought you were better than doing Verizon DSL ads. BETTER than THAT. Egads. Also, I’ll be skipping the “controversial new ‘House’”.

Anwar Robinson looks SO MUCH like Vanilli that I can’t take him seriously, and I don’t like his version of “Moon River” until he gets to the part he starts really belting out. But “Moon River”, REALLY? He showed he can sing at the end, though. Paula needs to get bitchslapped by now. “I wish I could play that in my radio in my car” or whatever she said. Gah. Mrs. JJD pans the jacket, though.

Judd Harris sings “Playin’ in a Traveling Band”, in a very energetic, Matt Rogers-sort-of-way. It’s the first upbeat song in a while, and it’s not horrible except when he looks into the camera and points, which makes Mrs. JJD go “Gah!” At the end Mrs. JJD says, “That guy? No.”

Joseph Murena brings the Michael Bolton with “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?” Now I know what it would look like if Mark Ruffalo and the lead singer from Train had a kid. Mrs. JJD said it was better than Michael Bolton as I wonder exactly how much of a complement that is.

Mario Vazquez is up next. I already don’t like him from the earlier episodes. I guess this song is called “Do I Do?” Is this a Stevie song, too? He sounds JUST like him. Mrs. JJD says she doesn’t want to like him but she can’t help it. I get a vibe like he should have been on the TV show "Fame". The judges love him, too. The fact that he's SO obviously gay can't be good news for Jared, I'd bet.

The recaps REALLY don’t help Nikko, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go, but we’d really expect Sergei and Jared to go. I think I’d vote for Bo if I was picking a favorite, while Mrs. JJD would vote for Vanilli. All in all it was a really good episode, though.

“To get ass, you’ve got to bring ass." -- Roy Jones Jr.

"Your input has been noted.I hope you don't take it personally if I disregard it." -- Guru Zim

Originally posted by JayJayDeanJudd Harris sings “Playin’ in a Traveling Band”, in a very energetic, Matt Rogers-sort-of-way. It’s the first upbeat song in a while, and it’s not horrible except when he looks into the camera and points, which makes Mrs. JJD go “Gah!” At the end Mrs. JJD says, “That guy? No.”

I flipped by the channel and saw that guy. I thought it looked & sounded like something straight out of a karaoke bar.

Originally posted by JayJayDeanMrs. JJD also noticed the new set, which is pretty cool, more intimate like a club would be. I wonder if they’ll go back to the bigger one when they get to twelve. Surely they will.

They've used similar sets for the finalist runoffs in previous seasons.

Noticed the guy who got kicked out of the finals last year after getting popped for a DUI (Donnie Williams) got cut on the final callback day this year. They showed him getting out of the elevator for about two seconds. His departure last year gave a second chance to one George Huff. Memories.

I think the lighting and video screen somehow inspire people to cheese it up, because there were singers who did not even seem half bad during the audition shows who were dreadful last night.

Poor Travis. American Idols don't wear Dockers.

Bo is ugly. I will call him BO BUTT. I anticipate homages to Mr. Big, Bad English and SHERIFF.

I fear if that creepy backwoods homunculus sticks around any longer, he will eat the other contestants.

This may or may not be a counterpoint to JJD and Mrs. JJD. The piewife and I also watched this show and agreed with some the observations noted above, but disagreed with some as well. I find as the seasons go on, I agree almost whole-heartedly with Cowell each and every week.

We cringe each time they say "we'll narrow this down to 12 boys and 12 girls." People!! Some of these contestants are now 29 years old!! They are NOT boys and girls. At least go with males and females or something. Seacrest out.

Little Ozzie needs to go. We don't need any additional Stevie Wonders. I guess we could make this comment about half of the remaining males, too.

I expect to read one morning in the paper that Scott Savol killed his whole family with a shotgun and then went down to the local Burger King and opened fire, too. He sings pretty good though.

I want to like Anthony Fedorov, but man he sucked. He won't get cut this week, but he should.

Bo Bice was pretty damn good and looked even better for following Anthony. I expect some Skynyrd next week.

I was vindicated when the judges said he was off-key. My wife commented that it was either him or the backing tracks, but we're guessing the backing tracks were checked for on-keyness. He needs to go home. Kim's right about the Dockers, too. Really. Come on.

I also want to like Constantine, but that wasn't very good. He might want to be Eddie Vedder, but I see more Michael Bolton in him than Eddie.

I think David Brown could be awesome, but the first half of his song tonight just plain sucked. He got a little better, but the judges were right on when they said most of these guys were way better in auditions.

Anwar Robinson got high marks from both of us. Moon River started off poorly, but he really kicked in. I like him a lot.

What was Jared Yates thinking? Thanks for the Marc Anthony heads-up, JJD. I hadn't heard this song before and I hope I never do again. My wife thought he looked good; I didn't.

Judd Harris - the piewife's favorite. He's channeling Jon Peter from last year with a little better voice. At least he looks like he is enjoying himself. Good thing, because the rest of us are not amused.

Joseph Murena - he has a unique voice and I think he might last a while in the competition. He was one of the better performers last night, but that's not high praise.

Mario Vasquez gets more and more annoying each time I see him. I liked him at first, but he's slipping fast. The piewife despises him. And what's with Randy loving him? The best performance he's even seen on American Idol? What's in the Coca-Cola glass on the desk, dawg?

Thanks first to Kim for reminding me that they did in fact use a similar set last year to get down from 32 to 12, which in turn reminded me of JPL's spastic "A Little Less Conversation" that got him through to the finals. Blah. At least they seemed to find 12 (ok, 11) guys who can actually sing. Did they do so well with the girls? Let's hope so.

Mrs. JJD notes that she thinks Ryan is wearing the exact same clothes from last night, so he threw on the jacket as a cover. He doesn't look like he shaved, either. Long night, Seacrest?

Vonzell Sullivan leads off with "Heat Wave". She reminds me of the other two Destiny's Child girls, like if you merged them you'd get Vonzell. I thought this was solid, but then I thought Nikko was pretty good going first last night and by the time they did the clips at the end he'd clearly been surpassed, so I'll be interested to see how she stands up to the rest. I think she at least proved she can sing, moreso than Ozzie Jr. did last night in going first, and WHAT'S with Randy calling the guys watching the "Dawg Pound" like he's Arsenio and it's 1989? They even barked on cue, Lord help us.

Amanda Avila is up next with "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You". I realize there is no middle ground on whether one thinks Penelope Cruz is hot or not, and I'm with those who say "hot", and since Amanda looks just like Penelope, well, it's all good. Am I purposely avoiding talking about her song? Perhaps. It was OK, but we just hearcd the one guy sing it last night, and she really reminds me of Jasmine from last year, like this might be her only good song. Except it wasn't REALLY that good. Simon: "In my next life, I want to come back as your microphone." Damn, dude! Guess he is pro-PC as well.

Janay Castine is up after the break with "I'm Gonna Love You Forever", and OH MY is it bad, bad, BAD. She seemed REALLY nervous, and made Amanda and Vonzell seen like world-beaters by comparison. She's TOTALLY channeling Camile from last season, right down to the overactive hands. It's hard to imagine her making it to next week, right now.

Carrie Underwood gets to follow Janay with "Could've Been", and it's ALL good, especially after having immediately followed Janay. Randy's "how is it that no one has discovered you yet" comment is about the nicest thing a judge could say I think, and the judges are unanimous in their praise. Plus, Carrie went with the curly 'do tonight, and let's just all agree that we know she's a little farm girl from Oklahoma, but there's a bad, bad girl wanting to come out and play. She should be around long enough to get a week where the theme doesn't fit her vocal style so she has to dress like Kimberly Caldwell to make people overlook her singing, and that won't be bad at all.

Sarah Mather is after Carrie, and what did she sing? I can't for the life of me remember, but it wasn't good. No sir. Especially right after Carrie. In fact, she really ventured into Janay-land for a bit, and I wouldn't be surprised if she went away after this week as well. She does look like she could stick around Hollywood making "Barely Legal" movies if she gets cut, though.

Melinda Lira should have a strong showing after Sarah's mess, but she picks "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion, and, for the love of Pete, WHY do these girls insist on going there EVERY YEAR? I'm not a Celine fan, but I admit she has an incredible voice, and NO American Idol finalist is going to take a Celine Dion song and make it sound good. None. This wasn't even good, and I'm starting to think they actually have a much stronger group of guys this year.

Nadia Turner comes on stage with electric guitars blasting and busts out something I think is called "I've Got the Power". That was awesome, if only because it was totally unexpected, and since she's like 6'9" she's got a great stage presence. I wonder if Constantine (now in theaters) is regretting going with Seal last night after watching this.

Celena Rae is really cute, but I don't think she's set up to succeed going right after Nadia, and MAN is she boring singing "I Will Love Again". Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. She shows she's got some singing ability, enough to get through, I think.

Mikalah Gordon is up next, wearing an awful dress, with some awful hair. She looks like Stifler's mom, only 16, and she's got these MONSTER calves that I can't help but stare at when the camera pans back. She sings "Young Hearts" and she sounds EXACTLY like Taylor Dayne at first, which isn't bad, I guess, but she veers off to Streisand-land about halfway through and it's not pretty. Simon notes that he thinks half of America will find her amusing and half will think she's annoying. I'm pretty sure ALL of America thinks she's annoying and that she's whatever else in spite of the annoying-ness. I think she'll survive this week but it's just a matter of time before she goes.

Lindsey Cardinale is after Mikalah, and it would seem she has a decent chance to look good in this spot, but she picks a safe song that comes off as flat and boring. The judges want her to go through so they all say they know she's better than that song she picked. I think Simon said she was "tentative", and I went "YEAH! Tentative."

Jessica Sierra chooses "Against All Odds" as I shake my head. Phil Collins? Really? Ugh. I didn't think this was good, either, and I think Lindsey and Jessica are both lucky that they aren't cutting down to eight or six this week, because there is nothing about either one of them that I think would get votes. I do think Jessica could go with Sarah on some of the "Barely Legal" shoots after she gets eliminated, though.

Aloha Mischeaux looks just like Brittany Murphy from Clueless (if Brittany was black or polynesian or whatever Aloha is, of course), right down to the same hairstyle. I didn't want to like her after the Red Room interview, and I didn't want to like her while she sang, but she's definitely got charisma. Randy thinks she's trying too hard to be Beyonce. Maybe she should hook up with Vonzell?

Who's safe? Carrie, Nadia, and (grudgingly) Aloha were all really good. Janay and Sarah were BAD, while Celena, Lindsay, and Jessica were not particular inspiring, and I have NO idea what to make of Mikalah. It wouldn't surprise me if any of those six got the boot this week.

“To get ass, you’ve got to bring ass." -- Roy Jones Jr.

"Your input has been noted.I hope you don't take it personally if I disregard it." -- Guru Zim

Originally posted by JayJayDeanPlus, Carrie went with the curly 'do tonight, and let's just all agree that we know she's a little farm girl from Oklahoma, but there's a bad, bad girl wanting to come out and play.

And that's where I come in...

Mikalah Gordon...sounds EXACTLY like Taylor Dayne

I said EXACTLY the same thing.

Why...oh WHY am I watching this crap? And why are 90% of the posters in this thread men??? :)

Originally posted by JayJayDeanWho's safe? Carrie, Nadia, and (grudgingly) Aloha were all really good. Janay and Sarah were BAD, while Celena, Lindsay, and Jessica were not particular inspiring, and I have NO idea what to make of Mikalah. It wouldn't surprise me if any of those six got the boot this week.

Only a couple hours until the show, but here's the Reader's Digest version from all the family (piewife and all the pie-lettes included).

Carrie was head and shoulders above every one else. We all liked Aloha and Nadia. The piewife really likes Sarah and Jessica. What the hell? Sarah stunk and my wife thought she had a nice voice. Um. No.

Then we all agree that Mikalah is the sixteen year old Fran Drescher. She must go pretty soon.

Overall, Sarah and Janay should get the boot though. The problem is that this early in the show, nearly everyone is at risk.

Ooooh, I didn't like how they did Judd like that. Not that I think he was one of the better ones or anything, but to tell the guy he's safe, then ONE MINUTE LATER tell him he's cut?! Damn, that's cold. Even Joseph, who looked over at Anwar and was like "if it's him or me it's damn sure not HIM going home" was shocked. Did they really need to SWERVE the contestants? It's not their fault you made the stupid results show an hour long.

Bug-eyed Sarah's "performance" after getting cut was the most pathetic (though not inappropriate) thing EVER. Even Leah LaBelle showed more energy last year after getting the ax.

“To get ass, you’ve got to bring ass." -- Roy Jones Jr.

"Your input has been noted.I hope you don't take it personally if I disregard it." -- Guru Zim

I think the show's producers just got real cruel last night. Axing Judd like that and then asking them to sing? The first girl that got cut was some interview for Seacrest. She was stunned, to say the least.

All said, I don't think any of those four was going anywhere in this contest, but damn that was a cold way to cut contestants.